Martin Scorsese is determined to make "Silence" his next movie. The helmer and Graham King's GK Films are negotiating with Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis and Benicio Del Toro to star. Gael Garcia Bernal is also circling the film, expected to begin production later this year in New Zealand.

The drama is set in the 17th century as two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity.

"Silence" is based on the Shusaku Endo novel, which was adapted by Jay Cocks. Scorsese has had the project on his radar for more than a decade.

The film would be Day-Lewis' third with Scorsese following "Gangs of New York" and "The Age of Innocence." Day-Lewis has completed the Rob Marshall-directed musical "Nine."

"Silence" would mark the first collaboration for Scorsese and Del Toro, who most recently starred in the Steven Soderbergh-directed "Che" and next stars as the title character in "The Wolf Man." Garcia Bernal, best known for "Babel" and "Y tu mama tambien," is in early talks.

There is currently no domestic distributor for the pic. King is financing the film himself, as he did on "Edge of Darkness," the William Monahan-scripted and Martin Campbell-directed drama that stars Mel Gibson.

Scorsese and King have worked together on "The Departed," "The Aviator" and "Gangs of New York."

Scorsese most recently completed an adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel "Shutter Island" for Paramount with Leonardo DiCaprio starring.

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Amazing news. If this project comes to light in the near future then it moves to the top of my list for most anticipated. The concern is that news of a possible Scorsese project are a dime a dozen these days and so who knows what will really happen. But the fact that three major actors and a studio are tied to it makes me believe this report has some legs.

TOKYO (AFP) – Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese plans to adapt for the screen a novel on Japan's brutal persecution of Christians during the 17th century, according to a museum.

The 1966 novel "Chinmoku" ("Silence") by Shusaku Endo tells the story of a young idealistic Jesuit priest from Portugal who lands on the shores of Nagasaki in southern Japan -- then the only region open to foreigners.

The novel depicts the severe persecution Japan then inflicted on converts to Christianity, many of whom were impoverished villagers and went into hiding.

Academy Award-winning art director Dante Ferretti, who is close to Scorsese, and producer E. Bennett Walsh this week visited the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture to research the film.

"They are going to make a movie and so they visited to research Japanese Christian history," museum spokesman Koichiro Nishijima said.

He said that the pair carefully studied a "fumie," a metal plaque depicting Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary that authorities would make people step on in order to weed out Christians.

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper said actors who may star in the movie include Daniel Day-Lewis, Gael Garcia Bernal and Benicio Del Toro -- who recently depicted Che Guevara in Steven Soderbergh's "Che".

Scorsese plans to start shooting the film in New Zealand later this year and expects it to reach cinemas in 2010, the Asahi reported.

It would be the first major work directed by a foreigner about the subject, a less well-known part of Japan's history.

As many as 30,000 Japanese are believed to have been persecuted for their Christian faith, which was introduced by Spanish Jesuit Francis Xavier in 1549 but banned for centuries.

The Roman Catholic Church last year beatified 188 Japanese martyrs, mostly laypeople who were tortured to death.

Christians came out of hiding when Japan ended its policy of self-imposed seclusion in the 1860s.

Christians now make up a small part of the population in the largely Buddhist and Shinto nation and include prominent figures such as Prime Minister Taro Aso.

Scorsese is known for Hollywood blockbusters including "The Departed" and "Gangs of New York," as well as iconic films "Taxi Driver," "Goodfellas" and "Raging Bull."

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Things have come back around for Martin Scorsese who is now once again attached to direct the financial thriller "The Wolf of Wall Street" reports Vulture.

The story follows the rise and fall of a drug, alcohol, and sex-addicted brokerage firm operator Jordan Belfort. A multi-millionaire in the eighties, by the following decade he's a federal-convict banned from the securities business for life for offences related to stock market manipulation.

Scorsese replaces Ridley Scott who himself replaced Scorsese when he opted to focus on other projects like "Shutter Island" and "Hugo Cabret". Leonardo DiCaprio remains attached to play Belfort.

"Boardwalk Empire" creator Terence Winter penned the script and there was word Scorsese aimed to shoot the film independently this year. However Scorsese's publicist insists that Scorsese is instead focused on his long-gestating adaptation of Shusaku Endo’s 1966 novel Silence as his next project after 'Cabret'.

Jay Cocks penned that story about Jesuit priests in 17th century Japan who face persecution as they attempt to track down their mentor. Benicio del Toro, Daniel Day-Lewis and Gael Garcia Bernal were previously attached.

Has The Financial Disappointment Of 'Hugo' Killed The Chances Of Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' Getting Made?Source: Playlist

While the critical adulation -- eleven Oscar nominations and five wins -- for Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" put a nice finish on the film's journey to the big screen, in the cold light of day, and on a financial level, the film was a bust. While it didn't get the same kind of ink that something like "Men In Black 3" did, production on "Hugo" was rocky, with Scorsese struggling to adjust to 3D during the filming, forcing the production schedule that was loosely slated from July to November 2010 to get extended to February 2011. At when it was all tallied up, the final price tag of the movie was apparently somewhere in the neighborhood of $180 million, and with the film only taking in $182 million worldwide it was likely not the hit backers GK Films was looking for. And according to THR, this has put a strain on the relationship between producer Graham King and filmmaker Martin Scorsese, potentially putting the director's long-gestating dream project "Silence" in jeopardy.

First, let's rewind a bit. King and Scorsese have been joined at the hip for the last decade or so, collaborating on a string of successful films including "The Departed," "The Aviator" and "Gangs of New York" and both brought their producer powers to "The Young Victoria." And it seemed they would be continuing to work together in the future. It was just over a year ago that it was reported that "Silence" would be Scorsese's next picture, with Graham King backing the film. But it seems much has changed since then.

According to the trade, "Hugo" cost GK Films nearly $80 million in losses, and added up to a dismal 2011 that also included duds like "The Rum Diary" and "In the Land of Blood and Honey." But more importantly, GK Films money man, oil billionaire Tim Headington, is said to be bleeding to the tune of $200-250 million, which may cause him to reassess his input into the company. Needless to say, there is now apparently friction between King and Scorsese because of the position "Hugo" has put the producer in, and that is the reason why "Silence" did not go forward as planned.

But we understand King's reluctance to pull the trigger on "Silence." It's certainly a film that would be tough to position, an adaptation of Shusaku Endo's novel about two 17th century Jesuit priests who face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity. Even with actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro and Gael Garcia Bernal linked to roles early on, a period movie about religion isn't going to be packing them in. Certainly if "Hugo" had been a runaway success, it would be much easier to get this moving, but it does say something that the next movie Scorsese is doing is the much more commercially viable "The Wolf of Wall Street" with buddy and megastar Leonardo DiCaprio. And it notedly marks a break with King, with the film set up at Red Granite Pictures.

So what will become of "Silence"? If King ultimately decides he's not going to make it, we presume Scorsese could work out a deal to take it elsewhere, package the picture and hope to get financing. But again, given the subject matter and the potential cost, even with Scorsese's name attached, it might be a hard one to drum up support for. However, if "The Wolf of Wall Street" is a hit (and there's really no reason why it won't be), everyone could soften up and find a reason to get Scorsese's passion project made. Memories are short in Hollywood, money and success talks, and maybe this time next year, it will all be water under the bridge for King and Scorsese.

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Martin Scorsese's Long Developing 'Silence' Finds Backer In Cecchi Gori Pictures, To Be Produced First On Company's SlateSource: Playlist

A little extra patience is all it takes, it seems. After the financial disappointment of “Hugo” reportedly divided Martin Scorsese and his producer Graham King, halting plans to bring his dream project “Silence” to the screen, we wondered whether the venture would ever recover given its long gestation, but it seems the European company responsible for “Il Postino” and “Life is Beautiful” has been waiting in the wings the entire time.

Niels Juul, the CEO of the recently revived Cecchi Gori Pictures, revealed in an interview with THR his financial backing of “Silence,” and also that Scorsese's project is further along that initially thought: “It's been in pre-production for a while.” Juul said, “We don't know the schedule quite yet, but that's definitely a signed deal and that would probably be our first feature back in the swing of things.” This hustle appears completely, but excitingly, incongruous to the general temperature before it, with King taking an $80 million loss on “Hugo” making the prospect of the period drama "Silence” an ever harder sell. With Cecchi Gori, a price tag hasn't been mentioned yet, but with its historical and international setting, undoubtedly high-profile cast, and a company ready to back its acquisition, the number might remain a reason for King to shudder, even on the sidelines.

The project is a crucial one for Scorsese, clearly, but it is from the perspective of Juul that it takes on an even greater import. “Silence” represents an opportunity for Cecchi Gori, which he's been CEO of for three years now, to revive its tarnished image after years of legal disputes with former presidents and mishandled funds. The company once saw American success with “Seven” and “A Bronx Tale,” and Juul is looking to Scorsese to match that feat once more, with "Silence" set to be the first production out of the gate for the company.

Promising as this all seems though, don't expect news of a “Silence” release date just yet. Scorsese has “The Wolf of Wall Street” with Leonardo DiCaprio scheduled to shoot in August, and post-production/release on that will likely take some time. Still, following that, Scorsese seemingly has the path paved for him to bring his dream project to fruition, and we are excited to see it happen.

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Has The Financial Disappointment Of 'Hugo' Killed The Chances Of Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' Getting Made?

nope, scorsese himself did ...

Martin Scorsese Sued By Producer Cecchi Gori Over Alleged Deal to Direct 'Silence'Cecchi Gori claims it invested $750,000 to develop the property and that Scorsese agreed way back in 1990 to direct it after Kundun (1997).Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Martin Scorsese has been sued by the production company behind a film project that the Oscar-winning director allegedly promised to direct more than two decades ago.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by THR, Cecchi Gori Pictures, the production company headed by Vittorio Cecchi Gori, claims it entered into several agreements with Scorsese and his Sikelia Productions for him to direct Silence, based on a Japanese novel by Shusaku Endo about missionaries who are sent to Japan in 1683 to investigate reports of Christians being tortured by the country's emperor.

Cecchi Gori claims it invested $750,000 to develop the property and that Scorsese agreed way back in 1990 to direct it after Kundun (1997). In 2004 and 2011, Scorsese and his company allegedly signed deals to postpone Silence so he could direct The Departed, Shutter Island and Hugo. As part of those deals, Scorsese is said to have agreed to pay "substantial compensation and other valuable benefits, for the right to direct these three other films prior to Silence," according to the complaint. Those fees are said to be $1.5 million per film plus 20 percent of Scorsese's backend compensation.

The suit claims Scorsese never paid his agreed-on delay fee for Hugo and now has decided to direct Wolf of Wall Street for Paramount (with Leonardo DiCaprio and an all-star cast) instead of Silence. "The Checchi Gori Parties cannot allow their rights to be ignored or compromised by further delay on the part of Scorsese and Sikelia," the complaint alleges.

We've reached out to Scorsese rep Leslee Dart for comment and will update with a response.

"Has all the earmarks of a media stunt": Martin Scorsese Rages Against Cecchi Gori's BullSource: indiewire

Martin Scorsese has fired back at a new lawsuit being filed against him. As reported by The Wrap, Cecchi Gori Pictures recently filed suit against the legendary filmmaker and his Sikelia Productions company for not directing an adaptation of Shusaku Endo's 1996 novel "Silence," per alleged written agreements (the first of which was reportedly made back in 1990).

Claiming that the lawsuit -- which accuses Scorsese and Sikelia of two counts of breach of written contract, intentional misrepresentation and negligent misrepresentation -- has "all the earmarks of a media stunt," the statement reads:

It is shocking to us that the lawyers for Cecchi Gori Pictures would file a suit pursuing such absurd claims considering the amicable working relationship existing between Martin Scorsese and the principals of Cecchi Gori Pictures. The claims asserted are completely contradicted by, inconsistent with, and contrary to the express terms of an agreement entered into by the parties last year.

According to the suit filed Wednesday, Scorsese was to shoot "Silence" after "Kundun," but opted to direct "Bringing Out the Dead" and "Gangs of New York," during which time Cecchi Gori Pictures incurred development costs that reached $750,000 by 2001. Following his 2004 drama "The Aviator," the director allegedly agreed to direct "Silence," but didn't. The company filed the lawsuit once they learned of Scorsese's plan to follow-up his Oscar-winning family film "Hugo" with "The Wolf of Wall Street," and not "Silence." According to Cecchi Gori Pictures, the filmmaker had agreed to start production on "Silence" by the end of year.

"Silence," based on Japanese author Shusaku Endo's novel about Portugese missionaries sent to Japan in 1683 to investigate claims of the torture of Christians by the emperor, is one of the primary remaining assets for Cecchi Gori Pictures, the film company led by Vittorio Cecchi Gori (responsible for the little-seen Robert De Niro family drama "Everybody's Fine"), that has been undergoing financial restructuring for the last several years.

The company claims Scorsese and Sikelia owe $1.5 million, plus 20% of all "back-end" compensation received by the director, related to "Hugo."

"The Wolf of Wall Street," which tracks the rise of fall of New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort, is set to come out next year and stars Scorsese regular Leonardo DiCaprio, alongside a starry cast that includes Jonah Hill, Jean Dujardin, and Matthew McConaughey. Following "Wall Street," Scorsese has a number of projects in the works, including his long gestating Frank Sinatra biopic (currently being written by "The Hunger Games" scribe Billy Ray), and the gangster pic "The Irishman," which would reunite him with Robert De Niro.

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

EXCLUSIVE: For my part, Martin Scorsese can’t make enough movies. But he’s trying. Scorsese, who is completing The Wolf Of Wall Street with Leonardo DiCaprio, just held a reading of Steve Zaillian’s script at the Tribeca Film Center for The Irishman, the mob drama based on the Charles Brandt book I Heard You Paint Houses. The film is about mob hit man Frank Sheeran. Robert De Niro, who’ll play the lead character, was there, as was Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, also expected to take part. Project is set up at Paramount, but several financiers were there looking to invest.

I’m told by Scorsese’s camp that this is something Scorsese likes to do to make sure the picture is making proper progress. But they assure me he’s not making The Irishman next. Scorsese’s holding fast to his dream of making Silence the next film he directs. Scorsese, who almost had the Shusaku Endo book project together several times, is auditioning actors and is looking to start production on the film in mid-2014. Given De Niro’s resurgence in Silver Linings Playbook, how can we wait that long to see the actor get back in business with Scorsese?

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

EXCLUSIVE: Martin Scorsese will finally realize his long-held dream to direct Silence, an adaptation of the Shusaku Endo novel about 17th Century Jesuits who risk their lives to bring Christianity to Japan. Financing for the film has been secured by Emmett/Furla Films, as part of a two picture deal that principals Randall Emmett and George Furla have made, to co-finance a second film by the director. The plan is to shoot in Taiwan in July, 2014, depending on cast, from a script by Jay Cocks and Scorsese.

I’m told that things are moving fast on this and that they are all making plans for Scorsese to come to Cannes and launch the picture. Numerous sales companies have been vying to handle foreign rights, but that task will fall to Len Blavatnik and Stuart Ford, who’ll jointly handle the foreign on the film for Emmett/Furla through their respective Axis Films and IM Global.

The film will be produced by Irwin Winkler, Emmett and Furla, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Checchi Gori, and Barbara DeFina, with Niels Juul exec producing. Scorsese will jump into the film after he completes The Wolf Of Wall Street.

Scorsese has wanted to make Silence since 1991. He has gotten close numerous times, with actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro and Gael Garcia Bernal among those mentioned over the years. But the pic has always gotten pushed, and there was even a lawsuit over how long it all took. Even that didn’t dampen Scorsese’s passion. It is not the easiest or most commercial project, but when a master like Scorsese is so passionate about a movie that it sticks with him more than 20 years, he’s going to find a way to make it, and now he has. He’s repped by WME and Rick Yorn. This is another big step for Emmett/Furla, which has films upcoming that include the Peter Berg-directed Lone Survivor and the Denzel Washington-Mark Wahlberg-starrer 2 Guns. Getting in business with Scorsese is a prestige play, and with the reticence of major studios to take big chances on proven filmmakers, it shows the opportunity for an indie company with backing and balls.When I interviewed Scorsese for Hugo during our awards season coverage two years ago, I asked him about why his passion for Silence has never waned. Here is what he said:

DEADLINE: You’ve tried to adapt the Shusaku Endo novel Silence, about 17th Century Jesuits who risk their lives to bring Christianity to Japan. It isn’t commercial, it has been hard to finance, but it looks like you’ll finally get your chance to make it. Why has it been so important to you?

SCORSESE: My initial interests in life were very strongly formed by what I took seriously at that time, and 45-50 years ago I was steeped in the Roman Catholic religion. As you get older, ideas go and come. Questions, answers, loss of the answer again and more questions, and this is what really interests me. Yes, the Cinema and the people in my life and my family are most important, but ultimately as you get older, there’s got to be more. Much, much more. The very nature of secularism right now is really fascinating to me, but at the same time do you wipe away what could be more enriching in your life, which is an appreciation or some sort of search for that which is spiritual and transcends? That’s one of the reasons why I made the George Harrison documentary. Silence is just something that I’m drawn to in that way. It’s been an obsession, it has to be done and now is the time to do it. It’s a strong, wonderful true story, a thriller in a way, but it deals with those questions.

DEADLINE: Are the questions you’re asking here similar to the questions that drew you to Last Temptation of Christ?

SCORSESE: Yes, but this is a different line of questioning.

DEADLINE: We Catholics are always struggling for answers.

SCORSESE: There are no answers. We all know that. You try to live in the grace that you can. But there are no answers, but the point is, you keep looking. Because people tell you science tells us everything. Science doesn’t! They just have discovered these Neutrinos that go faster than the speed of light. And there is this idea that once we got to a point in the mid-20th century and now the 21st century where everything is known in a sense, right? Well, we don’t! We don’t really know everything. I mean, yes, we don’t know what happened in the Big Bang, but we understand the idea of progress. But have we really progressed? We’ve progressed on the outside, but what about inside? What about the soul and the heart? Without trying to sound pompous and ridiculous, I can tell you this is where my interest is.

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

When it was announced last month that Martin Scorsese's long-developing dream project "Silence" was finally getting made, with a shoot next year in the works, we tempered our excitement. We had heard this before, more than once, and for a variety of reasons, the movie never happened. But today comes some great news, as not only is it moving forward, but the film has found it's first actor.

Andrew Garfield and Ken Watanabe are now on board the film, with Variety sitting down the with the filmmaker who also reveals that "Silence" will be a Japaense-language film. An adaptation of Shusaku Endo's novel, the story will follow two 17th century Jesuit priests who face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity. Garfield will be playing the Portuguese Father Rodrigues, who goes to Japan to follow up on rumors that his mentor has abandoned the church, with Watanabe as his translator. Obviously, this will be a smaller scale, niche effort than the director's past works, but it could also be somewhat of a genre flick, if viewed from a particular angle.

“Then again, it’s a thriller. Thriller meaning they are undercover,” he said. “I’m interested in this, whether it’s undercover priests or undercover cops.” Location scouting is underway, Robbie Robertson may reunite with the filmmaker to score the movie, Issei Ogata is also on board, and filming is aiming for July 2014.

While many will point to the once rumored cast of Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro and Gael Garcia Bernal, this is still a pretty solid round up of actors, and before Garfield was swinging through Manhattan, he earned attention for his turns in fare like "Boy A" and the "Red Riding" trilogy, so we're excited to see what he'll do here. And Watanabe has already proven his bonafides in pictures with Clint Eastwood, Christopher Nolan, Rob Marshall and more.

Martin Scorsese talks new movie: Cannes 2013The legendary director to make Mean Streets-meets-Kundun.Source: Total Film

In Cannes to raise funds for his long-cherished project Silence, Martin Scorsese sits on a yacht in his best grey suit, sipping champagne.

“The subject matter is very close to my heart,” he tells Total Film. “I’ve been working on it since I first read the book [Shusaku Endo’s 1966 masterpiece of the same name] in 1989.”

Having finally overcome legal matters and wrangled a workable script by scribe Jay Cocks (The Age Of Innocence, Gangs Of New York), Scorsese hopes to shoot in 2014.

He describes the project as a “smaller film” requiring a “smaller approach, more internal”, but unleashes his famous honking laugh when he admits “there is landscape”.

Quite. Set in the 17th century, Silence deals with two Jesuit priests who face violence and persecution when they leave New York to head for Japan in order to spread Christianity.

For Scorsese, it’s an unquestionably personal film.

“It goes back to growing up in New York, living in an area that was pretty tough, and also the church at the same time,” he says.

“It’s similar to Mean Streets, in a way,” he continues. “It deals with spiritual matters in a concrete, physical world; a world where invariably the worst of human nature is revealed.”

But, tantalisingly, the 71-year-old director also refers to Silence as a “suspenseful film, with elements of a thriller… it combines that with themes that were overt in Kundun and Bringing Out The Dead.”

Scorsese has already cast Andrew Garfield in the lead and has actors in mind for the other key roles. He’s not telling just yet, but he does say, “There’s an older Jesuit, in his 50s, and another young priest. I have to cast the older gentleman before I can cast the younger one.”

We can only pray that Robert De Niro is sitting by his phone…

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol